Ludwig van Beethoven, Anatoly Konstantinovich Liadov, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

3 Mechanical Duets

The three pieces in this collection all have connections to mechanical music.
Beethoven's Allegro is one a number of compositions written for a mechanical organ called the 'Flötenuhr' which consisted of small flute pipes, whose valves were operated by a rotating wooden barrel. A clock was often used in conjunction with the organ to make it play automatically at regular intervals.
The Musical Snuff Box is charming miniature was written in 1893, taking its inspiration from 18th Century musical snuff boxes.
The Rondo from Mozart's Sonata imitates the sound of Turkish Janissary bands. This movement was sometimes performed on a piano that featured a "Janissary Stop": a cymbal and bass drum mechanism operated by a pedal.